Removing the old clutch cable was easy. The end had broken off near the level, so I just pulled the cable through the sheath. However, I can't figure out how to install the transmission end. There are two nuts, one that goes on each end of the cable stay on the case. Obviously, the nut on the end has to come off. Do I pull it over the rubber? Do I pull the rubber over the cable end? Neither of those options actually seems possible.

Pages 57 through 64 of my owner's manual are missing, and they may very well explain this procedure!

Advice, please! Thanks.

Cable end has to go through here, and this doesn't come apart.

I don't think I can squeeze the nut over the rubber, and I don't think I can get the rubber over the cable end without tearing it up.

AlanCarefully pull the rubber boot off the cable, take off the nut and insert the cable through the casting. Reassemble cable. Have lots of fun hooking the cable to the clutch lever and then adjust as needed.

Long story short: you can remove the rubber from the cable end without tearing it up. Do it.

I found it easy to install/uninstall that cable end into the clutch arm (engine side, not the handlebar end, although that's easy, too!) by simply setting an adjustable wrench to the right width to grip the tapered pivoting arm on the engine case (the bracket that holds the cable end pivots on this arm). Rotate the arm forward, same action as the clutch cable creates - and simply drop the cable end right into the bracket. Then worm that boot back on...

I have it as loose as it will go, and there's zero play. Interestingly, the engagement point feels like it occurs when the lever is pulled almost all the way in, but when I first tried it, even though that part seemed right, I couldn't kick start it. I was able to make it about one turn looser (maybe not even a whole turn) and that took care of the starting, and the engagement point feels good, but there is no free play at all in the lever. I assume the cable will stretch a bit, but do I perhaps have a problem with the routing that's taking up too much slack?

My B5 came with what I guess you could call no clutch cable play, as measurable at the handlebar lever, anyway. It worked, and still works, fine.

I've always wondered what we mean when we talk about play - pull the lever until the gap, as shown in singhg5's photo, reaches 2-3 mm, but what exactly is supposed to happen at that point? Should that play exist before the clutch actuator arm on the engine cover begins to move? If I adjust the cable to that spec, my handlebar lever just flops freely within that measurement. Or, are we talking about 2-3 mm before the clutch actually begins to release?

My clutch doesn't disengage as soon as the engine-side arm begins to move; you've got to pull the arm forward a bit before you'll get any action at the clutch plates. So if I set the cable adjustment where the clutch return spring action just holds the handlebar lever in place without any loose play, when I pull the lever the arm begins to rotate right away, but the clutch doesn't actually begin to release until I've pulled the lever beyond that 2-3 mm gap. This is how it arrived from the dealer, and I have had virtually no trouble at all with shifting, false neutrals, etc.

It's subtle on the RE, more pronounce on some other bikes. Basically, this is the slack in the system before the parts start to engage and press on the clutch release bearing. If you open it up so that there is lots of play, you can tell the difference more easily.

Alan, how many miles do you have on the bike? If re-routing doesn't get you some more slack, I'd suspect that your clutch may be worn. Unlike brakes, most clutches get tighter as they wear, not looser. I haven't seen or heard of one that had no slack available. Just a thought, it's probably the routing. Let us know if you need help to figure out how it should go.

I have 10,000 miles on it, mostly highway commuting. The cable could be tweaked a bit where it goes through the opening in the headlight nacelle, but it really seems pretty straight there. I could re-route it just a bit, though.

What's odd to me is that it doesn't seem fully disengaged until I've pulled the lever nearly all of the way in. The clutch doesn't seem to be slipping. Yet the tightness clearly affected the kick-start. (I guess I already said that.)

As far as false neutrals, I was getting a lot of them before the old clutch cable broke. I had not tightened it up since I bought it. It's a lot better now... no bad shifts at all so far. Admittedly, I've only put 40 miles on it since replacing the cable, but it feels a lot better to my foot! If the cable is too tight, it's really close to being right.